September 19, 2014

Rookie of the Year: Vernon Maxwell, 1983

Linebacker, Baltimore
Colts

Age: 22 (Oct.
25)

College: Arizona
State

Height: 6’2” Weight: 219

Prelude:

As a
defensive end in college, Maxwell accounted for 28 sacks and 348 tackles. He
received honorable mention All-American honors in 1980 and ’81 and was a
consensus first-team choice in 1982. The Colts chose him in the second round of
the ’83 NFL draft, where he was reunited with Head Coach Frank Kush, who had recruited
him to Arizona State, and Maxwell moved directly into the starting lineup at
outside linebacker.

1983 Season Summary

Appeared and
started in all 16 games

[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Sacks – 11

Most sacks,
game – 3 vs. Denver 9/11

Interceptions
– 1

Int. return
yards – 31

Int. TDs – 0

Fumble
recoveries – 2

Forced
fumbles – 6

Tackles – 92

Awards &
Honors:

NFL Defensive
Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA

Colts went 7-9
to finish fourth in the AFC East.

Aftermath:

The Colts
moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and Maxwell was part of a good group of
linebackers, contributing 8.5 sacks. However, his tackles dropped to 53 and,
with rumors of off-field problems, he was traded to San Diego during training
camp in ’85 but was waived prior to the season and picked up by the Detroit
Lions, appearing in nine games. Maxwell played two more inconsistent years with
Detroit and also was with Seattle in 1989 and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the
CFL in 1991 and ’92. Overall, he appeared in 77 NFL and 14 CFL games and
recorded 19.5 of his 21.5 NFL sacks with the Colts, never again approaching the
level of performance of his rookie season.

--

Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL (including NFC/AFC), AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by
a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the
league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).